Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a front defroster nozzle apparatus for removing fogs on a windshield of automobile which result from frosts and dew condensations on the windshield. In particular, it relates to a front defroster nozzle apparatus excelling in the defogging performance, although the present front nozzle defroster nozzle apparatus has a compact configuration.
Description of the Related Art
For examples, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Gazette No. 2003-276430 discloses, as one of the component parts of an automotive air-conditioning system, a conventional front defroster nozzle apparatus that has been used widely so far. The conventional front defroster nozzle apparatus is installed to a vehicular interior part, such as an instrument panel, so as to open under the windshield at one of the opposite ends. Moreover, the conventional front defroster nozzle apparatus is connected with an air-conditioning system for vehicle at the other one of the opposite ends, thereby supplying air-conditioning airs, which the vehicular air-conditioning system blows out, to the windshield. In addition, the air-conditioning airs heat the windshield to remove water droplets adhering on the windshield. Thus, the conventional front defroster nozzle apparatus removes fogs on the windshield. Such a conventional front defroster nozzle apparatus comprises two openings. One of the openings makes a blow-out or outlet port facing to the windshield. The other one of the openings is connected with the above-described vehicular air-conditioning system directly or indirectly. For the convenience of supplying air-conditioning airs to the windshield, it has been often the case that the outlet port usually has a long and narrow configuration extending in a vehicular width direction along the lower end of the windshield.
Incidentally, in the conventional front defroster nozzle apparatus, the outlet port has been disposed over the entire length of the windshield substantially in a vehicular width direction. The disposition is intended to remove each and every bit of fogs on the windshield over the entire face of the windshield without exception.
However, in recent years, it has become difficult to dispose the outlet port of a front defroster nozzle apparatus over the entire length of a windshield substantially in a vehicular width direction. For example, such a technological proposal as disposing a head-up display device in a vehicle has been made recently. The head-up display device is a device for projecting the information on traveling, like vehicular speeds, onto a windshield. In consideration of the relationship of the light-path length of a head-up display to a windshield, it is considered good to put the head-up display device in place adjacent to the windshield. When a vehicle has such a head-up display device onboard, a region, which enables the outlet port of a front nozzle apparatus in the vicinity of the windshield to be put in place, has been narrowed down. As a result, it has become difficult to dispose the outlet port of a front defroster nozzle apparatus over the entire length of the windshield in a vehicular width direction. Consequently, in such a front defroster nozzle apparatus, it has been required to make the vehicular-width-direction outlet width of the outlet port smaller. Note that, in the present specification, the terms, a “blow-out or outlet width in a vehicular width direction” and a “vehicular-width-direction blow-out or outlet width,” might sometimes be simply abbreviated to as a “blow-out or outlet width,” if needed.
However, simply making a blow out or outlet width of the outlet port smaller has been associated with such a problem that it becomes difficult to supply air-conditioning airs onto the entire face of a windshield, because the smaller outlet width makes a flow-passage cross-sectional area smaller for air-conditioning airs blown out from a front defroster nozzle apparatus.